To celebrate our 20th anniversary of playing together, the Todalo Shakers have recorded a brand new CD which will be released in time for our March 2019 California tour. We're calling it "Rock Away My Blues" which is from one of the songs. Material includes songs from Memphis Jug Band, Mississippi Sheiks, Hensley & Taylor, Carolina Tar Heels, East Texas Serenaders, and more - plus a beautiful original penned by WB Reid. You can get them directly from us -- email if you want to order one by mail.

TODALO SHAKERS OCTOBER 2019 CALIFORNIA TOUR!

​Thurs. Oct. 10 - 7:30 pm - The Ugly Mug, 4640 Soquel Drive, Soquel. Todalo Quartet (Matt won't be able to join us for this show). $15 with reservation, $20 at the door. Payment for both at the door by cash or check. Reservations by emailing crbrundle@gmail.com, or 408 499 9441 (text or voice). This place has really great coffee, by the way!​Fri. Oct. 11 -- 8 pm -- Encino House Concert. Please email barry.oneill@polisci.ucla.edu for more details.

What do five veteran performers of blues, jug band, jazz and old time music do for fun? Why, form a band and wail on their favorite 1920s party music! The Todalo Shakers, from Seattle, Mendocino and Berkeley, have been playing together for over 20 years, and are currently celebrating their 2019 release, Rock Away My Blues. Past performances include Live Oak Festival, Santa Fe Bluegrass Festival, Lark In the Morning, Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Freight & Salvage, and Portland Old Time Gathering.

The Todalo Shakers specialize in vintage jug band party blues, rags and stomps which sound like they are lifted right out of 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee. Complex and soulful vocal arrangements create rich and funky harmonies, and a great feeling of camaraderie; the exuberance and fondness that the musicians feel for their material and for each other is unmistakable. Mix in hot ragtime tunes on fiddle and mandolin plus virtuoso bass slap solos, and the party really gets going!

Suzy Thompson has long been known for her bluesy fiddling and powerful vocals; she is the fiddler of choice for Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur; Del Rey, and has also worked with Maria Muldaur, Dave Alvin and Peter Rowan. Eric Thompson (playing mostly mandolin in the Todalo Shakers) began exploring the country blues in the 1960s with Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions (with Jerry Garcia) and more recently in his work with such artists as David Nelson, David Grisman and Jody Stecher. The Thompsons are based in Berkeley, California. Guitarist/vocalist Frannie Leopold (Mendocino) has toured and recorded the Delta Sisters and the Balkan Kafe Orchestra, and is a perennial favorite instructor at many West Coast music camps including Lark in the Morning and California Coast Music Camp. Bruce "WB" Reid (Seattle) sings and plays a rare vintage 6-string banjo-guitar (affectionately known as "the enforcer") with the Todalo Shakers. WB spent part of his twenties hanging out in San Diego with bluesman Sam Chatmon, of the legendary string band the Mississippi Sheiks. He has toured and recorded with the Tallboys (Seattle's hottest oldtime string band), with the Carolina Jug Stompers and with his wife, Bonnie Zahnow. Upright bassist Matt Weiner (Seattle) boasts a distinguished resume including stints with the Asylum Street Spankers, Hot Club of Cowtown, Wayne Horvitz, Danny Barnes and Becky Kilgore. His slap bass solos are always a highlight of a Todalo Shakers performance!

Todalo Shakers Performances (partial list)FESTIVALS:Live Oak FestivalSanta Fe Bluegrass & Old Time FestivalFestival of American Fiddle TunesPortland Old Time GatheringBerkeley Old Time Music ConventionCONCERTS:Seattle Folklore SocietyFreight & Salvage, Berkeley CALagunitas Brewery, Petaluma CAQuimper Grange Hall, Port Townsend WAMendocino Community CenterDevil Mountain Coffeehouse, Walnut Creek, CANumerous house concerts in many cities and towns up and down the west coastMUSIC CAMPS:Lark in the MorningFestival of American Fiddle TunesSweets Mill

What exactly is a "Todalo"? First of all, it's pronounced "TOE-dah-low." It's closely related to "diddy-wah-diddy", and crops up occasionally in obscure old blues songs: "I'm satisfied, satisfied, my todalo shaker by my side" is a line from the Memphis Jug Band classic "You May Leave, But This Will Bring You Back" and references to "todalo" turn up in songs by Mississippi John Hurt, Eubie Blake, and Bessie Smith.